[Silence]
\n[Arrangement: Acoustic guitar, piano, organ, bass, percussion, strings gradually building. Reflective but hopeful.]<\/p>\n
[Intro]
\nAs it was
\n(As it was)
\nCan we go back?
\n(Just because?)
\nAs it was
\n(As it was)
\nOr is that chapter
\n(Already in “after”?)<\/p>\n
[Verse 1]
\nThe ice remembers
\n(What we forget)
\nA frozen history
\n(We haven’t met)<\/p>\n
Layer by layer
\n(Year after year)
\nNow disappearing
\n(Before our tears)<\/p>\n
The rivers wander
\n(New paths to find)
\nLeaving the maps
\n(We drew behind)<\/p>\n
[Pre-Chorus]
\nThe clock moves forward
\n(It can’t rewind)
\nThe future arrives
\n(Constantly remind)<\/p>\n
[Chorus]
\nWill the world ever be as it was?
\n(No, and man is “because”)
\nWill the world ever be the same?
\n(Woe no, only in name)<\/p>\n
Will the mountains wear
\n(The same old crown?)
\nWill the oceans rise
\n(Or settle down?)<\/p>\n
Will the world ever be as it was?
\n(No, and man is “because”)<\/p>\n
[Refrain]
\nGone is gone
\n(And time moves on)
\nGone is gone
\n(From dusk till dawn)<\/p>\n
What remains?
\n(What remains?)
\nThe choice ahead
\n(Hope or dread?)<\/p>\n
[Verse 2]
\nSpecies vanish
\n(Without goodbye)
\nCorals fade
\n(Beneath the tide)<\/p>\n
Forests migrate
\n(To cooler ground)
\nSeeking climates
\n(No longer found)<\/p>\n
The chemistry changes
\n(Within the sea)
\nRewriting futures
\n(For you and me)<\/p>\n
[Arrangement: Add strings and layered harmonies]<\/p>\n
[Pre-Chorus]
\nThe past is precious
\n(But cannot stay)
\nThe question now is
\n(What comes our way)<\/p>\n
[Chorus]
\nWill the world ever be as it was?
\n(No, and man is “because”)
\nWill the world ever be the same?
\n(Woe no, only in name)<\/p>\n
Will the seasons keep
\n(The rhythms known?)
\nOr become something
\n(Of their own?)<\/p>\n
Will the world ever be as it was?
\n(No, and man is “because”)<\/p>\n
[Bridge]
\nSome losses linger
\n(For centuries)<\/p>\n
Some changes echo
\n(Through histories)<\/p>\n
Another century
\n(Is fading fast)<\/p>\n
We cannot preserve
\n(The world we passed)<\/p>\n
But the story doesn’t
\n(End right here)<\/p>\n
The future still listens
\n(To what we steer)<\/p>\n
[Instrumental]
\n[Piano Solo]
\n[Organ Swell]
\n[Guitar Lead]<\/p>\n
[Final Chorus]
\nWill the world ever be as it was?
\n(No, and man is “because”)
\nWill the world ever be the same?
\n(Woe no, only in name)<\/p>\n
The question isn’t
\n(What we have lost)
\nThe question is
\n(What future it costs)<\/p>\n
Will the world ever be as it was?
\n(No, and man is “because”)<\/p>\n
[Final Refrain]
\nGone is gone
\n(And time moves on)<\/p>\n
Gone is gone
\n(But life goes on)<\/p>\n
What remains?
\n(What remains?)<\/p>\n
If we delay…
\n(From today)<\/p>\n
[Outro]
\nAs it was?
\n(As it was?)<\/p>\n
No…
\nHow dangerous
\n(Depends on us)<\/p>\n
About the Song
\nWill the World Ever Be as It Was?
\nThat does not appear possible.<\/p>\n
The climate of the twentieth century is gone.<\/p>\n
Many glaciers are retreating beyond recovery. Ancient ice is melting. Species are disappearing. Ecosystems are shifting. Ocean chemistry is changing. Sea levels will continue rising for centuries, and some changes already underway will persist for generations.<\/p>\n
The question is no longer whether we can preserve the world exactly as it was.<\/p>\n
We cannot.<\/p>\n
The more important question is whether we can influence the world that follows.<\/p>\n